Steering Control device for running toy and running toy

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a steering control device for a running toy including: light emitting sections mounted on the running toy to emit different types of infrared rays with different wavelengths in left and right directions diagonally ahead of the running toy, a light receiving section mounted on the running toy to receive the infrared rays emitted from the light emitting sections and reflected on an obstacle, and a control section mounted on the running toy to control a steering device of the running toy when the light receiving sections receive an infrared ray with a wavelength matching with at least one of the wavelengths of the infrared rays emitted from the light emitting sections so that the running toy is steered in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle according to the matching wavelength of the received infrared ray.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a steering control device for a runningtoy and a running toy including the steering control device for arunning toy.

2. Description of Related Art

For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-OpenPublication No. 2004-305769, a running toy represented byautomobile-type running toy can be steered by wireless operation. Thus,a collision with an obstacle ahead can be avoided by such steering.

However, with the invention described in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open Publication No. 2004-305769, the toy itself cannot detect theobstacle, thus when wireless operation is performed with inexperiencedoperation, a collision with the obstacle due to operating error and thelike occurs, resulting in damage of the toy itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of the abovesituation, and it is one of main objects to provide a steering controldevice for a running toy so that the running toy can avoid a collisionwith an obstacle ahead autonomously and a running toy including suchsteering control device for a running toy.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda steering control device for a running toy comprising:

light emitting sections mounted on the running toy to emit differenttypes of infrared rays with different wavelengths in left and rightdirections diagonally ahead of the running toy;

a light receiving section mounted on the running toy to receive theinfrared rays emitted from the light emitting sections and reflected onan obstacle; and

a control section mounted on the running toy to control a steeringdevice of the running toy when the light receiving sections receive aninfrared ray with a wavelength matching with at least one of thewavelengths of the infrared rays emitted from the light emittingsections so that the running toy is steered in a direction to avoidcollision with the obstacle according to the matching wavelength of thereceived infrared ray.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda steering control device for a running toy comprising:

light emitting sections mounted on the running toy to emit an infraredray at different timing in left and right directions diagonally ahead ofthe running toy;

a light receiving section mounted on the running toy to receive theinfrared ray emitted from the light emitting sections and reflected onan obstacle; and

a control section mounted on the running toy to control a steeringdevice of the running toy so that the running toy is steered in adirection to avoid collision with the obstacle according to the timingthe infrared ray is received by the light receiving section.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda steering control device for a running toy which changes a direction ofa steering wheel or a relative revolution speed of left and rightdriving wheels with a steering device, comprising:

light emitting sections to emit different types of infrared rays withdifferent wavelengths in left and right directions diagonally ahead ofthe running toy;

a light receiving section to receive an infrared ray reflected on anobstacle ahead of the running toy; and

a control section to control the steering device so that the running toyis steered for a predetermined amount of time by changing a direction ofthe steering wheel or the relative revolution speed of the left andright driving wheels in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacleaccording to the wavelength of the reflected infrared ray received bythe light receiving section.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda steering control device for a running toy which changes a direction ofa steering wheel or a relative revolution speed of left and rightdriving wheels with the steering device, comprising:

light emitting sections to emit an infrared ray at different timing inleft and right directions diagonally ahead of the running toy;

a light receiving section to receive the infrared ray reflected on anobstacle ahead of the running toy; and

a control section to control the steering device so that the running toyis steered for a predetermined amount of time by changing a direction ofthe steering wheel or the relative revolution speed of the driving wheelin a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle according to thetiming of the reflected infrared ray received by the light receivingsection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, advantages, and features of the presentinvention will become more fully understood from the detaileddescription given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are givenby way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definitionof the limits of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a running toy and wireless controllerof the present embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a chassis of the running toy shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the running toyshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a steering device of the runningtoy shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a steering device of the running toy shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a portion of a coil current circuit of thesteering device of the running toy shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section view showing a suspension of the running toyshown in FIG. 1 from a front view;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a status of running on a curved road surfaceof the running toy shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a course in which the runningtoy shown in FIG. 1 is used;

FIG. 10A is another example of a course in which the running toy shownin FIG. 1 is used; and

FIG. 10B is another example of a course in which the running toy shownin FIG. 1 is used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view showing an automobile-type running toy 1including a steering control device of the present invention and awireless controller 9 for operating speed of the running toy 1. An outerframe of the running toy 1 includes a chassis 2 shown in FIG. 2 and abody 3. The chassis 2 and the body 3 are configured with plastic, andalthough not limited, a concave section or hole section (engagingsection) is provided on an inner side of the front portion and an innerside of the side portion and the body 3 is fixed to the chassis 2 byelastically engaging the concave section or hole section to theprojection section 2 a of the chassis 2. The running toy 1 includes alater-described light receiving section 13 for receiving a controlsignal (for example, an infrared signal) from the wireless controller 9.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the chassis 2. Although not limited, achargeable battery (Nickel-Cadmium battery) 4 is provided in alongitudinal state in the central portion of the chassis 2. The battery4 is attached to a battery storage section (not shown) with anattachment member 5. Conductive strips 6 a and 6 b electricallyconnectable to a negative electrode and positive electrode of thebattery 4 are provided in front portion and rear portion of the batterystorage section. Although not shown, the conductive strips 6 a and 6 bare partially exposed on the bottom side of the chassis 2 and thebattery 4 can be charged by using the exposed portions of the conductivestrips 6 a and 6 b.

A motor holding plate 10 is provided in a rear portion of the chassis 2,and a motor (not shown) is stored in a bottom portion of the plate. Themotor is a DC motor, and exposed positive and negative terminals areelectrically connected to the positive and negative electrodes of thebattery 4, respectively. A gear 8 is fixedly provided to a motor shaftof the motor. The gear 8 is engaged to a gear 7 a, and the gear 7 a isengaged to a gear 7 b fixedly provided to a rear wheel axle (not shown)connecting rear wheels 2 b and 2 b. As a result, motor power istransferred from the gear 8 to gears 7 a and 7 b in order, and the rearwheels 2 b and 2 b are driven to rotate.

Two light emitting sections 11 and 12 for emitting infrared rays and alight receiving section 13 for receiving infrared rays are provided inthe front portion of the chassis 2. The light emitting sections 11 and12 are provided in left and right portions of the front of the chassis2, and although not limited, emit infrared rays centered to 45 degreesdiagonally forward to the left and right respectively. The left lightemitting section 11 and the right light emitting section 12 each emitinfrared rays λ1 and λ2 with different wavelengths at intervals of, forexample 0.5 to 0.7 seconds. The light receiving section 13 is providedat a center of the front of the chassis 2, and receives reflected lightof the infrared rays λ1 and λ2 emitted by the light emitting sections 11and 12 reflecting off of the obstacle ahead and a control signal fromthe above-described wireless controller 9. As described above, the lightreceiving section 13 can receive both infrared rays λ1 and λ2 and thecontrol signal, thus separate light receiving devices for each purposeis not necessary and the running toy 1 can be made with a compact form.

The light emitting sections 11 and 12 may emit a plurality of types ofinfrared rays at different wavelengths to at least two areas in left andright directions. The infrared rays emitted from the light emittingsections 11 and 12 have a predetermined irradiation width and theirradiation directions of the infrared rays from the light emittingsections 11 and 12 are suitably adjusted so that the irradiation widthsof the left and right light emitting sections 11 and 12 do not overlapeach other nor form a large gap between each other. It is preferablethat the irradiation width does not spread excessively wide outward thanthe width of the automobile toy.

The light emitting sections 11 and 12 may emit infrared rays λ1 and λ2at timing different from each other. In this case, the infrared rays λ1and λ2 do not need to be in different wavelengths.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless controller 9 includes a speed button 9a and a turbo button 9 b. The speed button 9 a can change running speedof the running toy 1 between two stages, normal speed and low speed. Therunning speed is always at low speed when the running toy 1 is started.When the speed button 9 a is pressed once, the running speed changes tonormal speed, and when the button is pressed twice, the running speedreturns to low speed. By pressing the turbo button 9 b once, the runningspeed can sharply accelerate temporarily from low speed or normal speedto maximum speed. After maintaining maximum speed for ten seconds, therunning speed automatically returns to normal speed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the running toy1, and the running toy 1 includes a control device 16 including a speedcontrol device 17 and a steering control device 18. The speed controldevice 17 variably controls the running speed of the running toy 1 by,for example Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) control of motor outputaccording to the control signal received with the light receivingsection 13. The steering control device 18 includes the light emittingsections 11 and 12 for emitting infrared rays, the light receivingsection 13 for receiving the infrared rays reflected on the obstacleahead, a coil current control section 19 for controlling the steeringdevice 20 by energizing a later-described coil 14 in order to change adirection of the front wheels 2 c and 2 c for a predetermined amount oftime to a direction to avoid the obstacle according to a wavelength ofthe infrared ray received by the light receiving section 13. In otherwords, the steering control device 18 detects whether the obstacle is inthe area of the left or right direction diagonally ahead by recognizingthe wavelength of the reflected light of the infrared ray received bythe light receiving section 13 and according to the detected result,allows the coil current control section 19 to control the steeringdevice 20 to steer for a predetermined amount of time in a direction toavoid collision in order to avoid collision with the obstacle. Here, theinfrared rays emitted from the above-described light emitting sections11 and 12 and the control signal (infrared signal) transmitted from thewireless controller 9 have different wavelengths.

The coil current control section 19 may control the steering device 20according to wavelength and strength of the infrared rays received bythe light receiving section 13. In other words, the steering controldevice 18 may detect whether the obstacle is in the area of the left orright direction diagonally ahead by recognizing the wavelength and thestrength of the reflected light of the infrared light received by thelight receiving section 13 and according to the detected result, mayallow the coil current control section 19 to control the steering device20 to steer for a predetermined amount of time in a direction to avoidcollision in order to avoid collision with the obstacle. The coilcurrent control section 19 may also perform the speed controllingperformed by the speed control device 17. When the coil current controlsection 19 also performs the speed controlling, space for the speedcontrol device 17 becomes unnecessary and the running toy 1 can be madewith a compact form.

Next, details of the steering device of running toy 1 will be described.As shown in FIG. 4, the steering device 20 of the running toy 1 includesleft and right knuckle arms (turning body) 21 attached to the left andright front wheels 2 c and 2 c respectively, and a tie rod (connectingbody) 22 connecting the left and right knuckle arms 21 to each other.

Here, front wheel axles 21 a are attached to each knuckle arm 21 andfront wheels 2 c and 2 c are attached to the front wheel axles 21 a soas to be able to spin freely. As shown in FIG. 5, the left and rightknuckle arms 21 are supported by the chassis 2 so as to be rotatablearound the left and right shafts 21 b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7,upper end portion and lower end portion of the left and right shafts 21b are in hole sections of the lower chassis 2 e and the upper chassis 2f, respectively. The hole section where the top end section of the shaft21 b is inserted into penetrates the upper chassis 2 f vertically andthe left and right knuckle arms 21 can move slightly vertically betweenthe lower chassis 2 e and upper chassis 2 f. On the other hand, as shownin FIG. 5, the tie rods 22 form turning pairs with the free ends of theknuckle arms 21 at areas of shafts 21 c of both end portions. As aresult, when the tie rods 22 oscillate left and right, the left andright knuckle arms 21 rotate around shafts 21 b and the direction of theleft and right front wheels 2 c and 2 c are changed.

A trim 25 is placed behind the tie rod 22. The trim 25 includes acylindrical shaft 23 and the trim 25 can turn around a center axis ofthe cylinder. The shaft 23 has magnetic force and with magneticattractive force of a later-described permanent magnet 24, holds the tierod 22 in a position which is not biased to left or right (neutralposition). Turning a lever 25 b exposed from the bottom side of thechassis 2 left and right around the center axis of the shaft 23 allowsfine adjustment of the neutral position of the tie rod 22.

The permanent magnet 24 is provided in a center portion of the tie rod22. The permanent magnet 24 is in a disk shape, and is provided so thateach end face faces upward or downward. One end face of the permanentmagnet is an S pole, and the other end face is an N pole. Left and rightcoils 14 are provided in front of the tie rod 22. The coils 14 are roundair core coils, which are coils without cores, one end portion of eachcoil 14 faces the end face of the permanent magnet 24 provided in thetie rod 22. Here, the disk shaped permanent magnet and round air corecoil are used in order to make the entire toy smaller and lighter by notusing a core in the coil. The generation of magnetic force of the coilin a round air core coil is weak, however this is not a problem when theabove-described shaft 23 used has very weak magnetic force.

FIG. 6 shows a portion of the coil current circuit. The energizing ofthe coil current circuit is controlled by the coil current controlsection and in the coil current circuit, the left and right coils 14 areenergized at the same time, so that when the left and right coils 14 areenergized at the same time, the polarity of the side facing the end faceof the permanent magnet 24 is the same pole (N pole or S pole) in bothleft and right coils 14. Therefore, when the left and right coils 14 areenergized, attractive force is produced between one coil 14 and thepermanent magnet 24, and repulsive force is produced between the othercoil 14 and the permanent magnet 24. With this, the tie rod 22oscillates by resisting to the attractive force between the shaft 23 andthe permanent magnet 24. The coil current control section changes thedirection of the flow of the current of the coil 14 to change theoscillating direction of the tie rod 22.

The left and right coils 14 may alternatively be energized and the tierod 22 may be oscillated by the attractive force or the repulsive forceproduced between the energized coil 14 and the permanent magnet 24.

The steering device 20 is not limited to the above-described structure,and a mechanism including a combination of, for example, a rack and apinion may be used.

The steering device may perform steering by relatively changing thenumber of revolutions of left and right steering wheels whose directiondo not change or relatively changing the speed of revolution of the leftand right driving wheels. For example, steering the driving toy 1 may beperformed by revolving the left and right driving wheels in the oppositedirection or by revolving only one driving wheel.

Steering may be performed after temporarily stopping the running of therunning toy 1.

FIG. 7 shows a suspension of the automobile toy. The suspension includesa leaf spring 30. The leaf spring 30 is provided in the upper chassis 2f. The middle of the leaf spring 30 is curved in a U-shape and thecurved portion is lightly pressed by a shaft 31 provided in the upperchassis 2 f. Left and right end portions of the leaf spring 30 areplaced on the hole sections where the upper end portions of the shafts21 b are inserted into, and abuts the top ends of the shafts 21 b. Withthis, the leaf spring 30 absorbs the impact received by the front wheels2 c and 2 c of the running toy 1 from the road surface according to theups and downs of a running surface.

Next, the operation of the running toy 1 when running on a curved roadsurface will be described.

The running toy 1 is mainly used in a course as shown in FIG. 9 which isexclusive for the running toy 1. On the course, the user can place astarting gate as shown in the bottom portion of the figure and alsoplace obstacles such as tires or drum cans according to the user'spreference. When the running toy 1 reaches a left bending curve as shownin FIG. 8 while running on the course, the running toy 1 canautonomously avoid collision with the course wall of the curve by thefollowing operation.

First, infrared ray λ2 is emitted from the right light emitting section12 of the running toy 1. The infrared ray λ2 is reflected on the coursewall of the curve ahead to the right of the running toy 1 and receivedby the light receiving section 13. When the light receiving section 13receives the infrared ray λ2, the coil current control section 19energizes the coil 14 so that the direction of the front wheels 2 c and2 c are changed in a predetermined direction to the left to avoidcollision with the course wall. A moving direction of the running toy 1is changed to a direction to which the front wheels 2 c and 2 c arechanged (arrow A of FIG. 8). Then, after a predetermined amount of timepasses, the coil current control section 19 returns the direction of thefront wheels 2 c and 2 c to a straight direction. As described above,the running toy 1 can autonomously avoid collision with the course wallahead.

In the above-described description, the operation of when the runningtoy 1 avoids one obstacle is described, however, since the lightemitting sections 11 and 12 and the light receiving section 13intermittently or successively emit and receive light, for example whenthere are a plurality of intermittent obstacles ahead to the left andright, the running toy 1 can avoid collisions with these obstacles andcontinue running. The obstacle to be avoided is not limited to astationary body, and for example, in a case where a similar automobiletoy is running ahead, when the automobile toy running ahead is withinthe irradiation range of the infrared ray, the automobile toy can bedetected and operation to avoid the automobile toy can be performed.

When the light emitting sections 11 and 12 emit infrared rays λ1 and λ2at separate timing, even if the infrared rays λ1 and λ2 do not havedifferent wavelengths, the light receiving section 13 can identify whichinfrared ray λ1 or λ2 is received by the timing the light is received.The steering control device 18 detects whether the obstacle is in a leftor right area diagonally ahead according to the timing the infrared raysλ1 and λ2 are received.

Since the light emitting sections 11 and 12 are provided in the left andright of the front of the running toy 1 and the light receiving section13 is provided in the center of the front portion of the running toy 1,the path of the infrared rays λ1 and λ2 from being emitted from thelight emitting sections 11 and 12 to being received by the lightreceiving section 13 is short, and consequently, attenuation of theinfrared rays λ1 and λ2 can be reduced to keep the sensitivity of thelight receiving section 13 high, and the obstacle can be detectedfaster.

When the light emitting sections 11 and 12 emit a plurality of types ofinfrared rays at different wavelengths to two or more areas in the leftand right direction, a position of the obstacle can be detected moreaccurately and a collision with the obstacle can be avoided with lessamount of avoidance.

When the coil current control section 19 can control the steering device20 according to the wavelength and strength of the infrared raysreceived by the light receiving section 13, the distance to the obstaclecan be detected by the strength of the infrared rays. When the distanceto the obstacle can be detected, when for example, an obstacle suddenlyappears ahead due to the change in running direction as described above,a collision with the obstacle can be avoided more reliably. When thespeed and timing of changing the direction of the front wheels 2 c and 2c can be controlled, the collision with the obstacle can be avoided evenmore reliably. The same can be said for when the light emitting sections11 and 12 emit infrared rays at separate timing and the coil currentcontrol section 19 can control the steering device 20 according to thetiming and strength of the infrared ray received by the light receivingsection 13.

Other than the course as shown in FIG. 9, the running toy 1 can be usedin a course representing an urban street as shown in FIG. 10A, or acourse representing a street under construction as shown in FIG. 10B,and running while avoiding obstacles can be enjoyed.

As described above, according to the running toy 1 including thesteering control device 18 of the present invention, since the steeringcontrol device 18 includes light emitting sections 11 and 12 foremitting infrared rays λ1 and λ2 at different wavelengths, a lightreceiving section 13 for receiving infrared rays λ1 and λ2 reflected onobstacles and a coil current control section 19 for controlling thesteering device 20 in order to change a direction of the front wheels 2c and 2 c for a predetermined amount of time to a direction to avoid theobstacle according to the wavelength of the infrared ray received by thelight receiving section 13, the position of the obstacle ahead can bedetected by recognizing the wavelength of the infrared ray received bythe light receiving section and collision with the obstacle can beautonomously avoided.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above,and can be suitably modified.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, collision is avoided bysteering, however when the left and right light receiving sectionsreceives infrared rays almost at the same time, then it may bedetermined that there is an obstacle which cannot be avoided and therunning toy can be stopped or steered to temporarily move backwards.

According to a first aspect of the preferred embodiments, there isprovided a steering device for a running toy comprising:

light emitting sections mounted on the running toy to emit differenttypes of infrared rays with different wavelengths in left and rightdirections diagonally ahead of the running toy;

a light receiving section mounted on the running toy to receive theinfrared rays emitted from the light emitting sections and reflected onan obstacle; and

a control section mounted on the running toy to control a steeringdevice of the running toy when the light receiving sections receive aninfrared ray with a wavelength matching with at least one of thewavelengths of the infrared rays emitted from the light emittingsections so that the running toy is steered in a direction to avoidcollision with the obstacle according to the matching wavelength of thereceived infrared ray.

According to the first aspect, the running toy can perform suitablesteering to avoid an obstacle according to whether the obstacle is inthe area to the left or to the right diagonally ahead based on thereceived wavelength of the reflected light.

Preferably, in the steering control device for the running toy, when thewavelength of the infrared ray received by the light receiving sectionmatches with at least one of the wavelengths of the infrared raysemitted from the light emitting sections, the control section controlsthe steering device of the running toy so that the running toy issteered in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle according tothe matching wavelength and strength of the received infrared ray.

Consequently, the control section can control the steering device tosteer the running toy in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the wavelength and the strength of the reflectedlight received by the light receiving section, and collision with theobstacle can be avoided accurately.

According to a second aspect of the preferred embodiments, there isprovided a steering control device for a running toy comprising:

light emitting sections mounted on the running toy to emit an infraredray at different timing in left and right directions diagonally ahead ofthe running toy;

a light receiving section mounted on the running toy to receive theinfrared ray emitted from the light emitting sections and reflected onan obstacle; and

a control section mounted on the running toy to control a steeringdevice of the running toy so that the running toy is steered in adirection to avoid collision with the obstacle according to the timingthe infrared ray is received by the light receiving section.

According to the second aspect, the running toy can perform suitablesteering to avoid the obstacle according to whether the obstacle is inthe area to the left or right diagonally ahead by recognizing the timingof receiving the reflected light.

Preferably, in the steering control device for the running toy, thecontrol section controls the steering device of the running toy so thatthe running toy is steered in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the timing and strength of the infrared rayreceived by the light receiving section.

Consequently, since the control section controls the steering device tosteer the running toy in the direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the timing and strength of the reflected lightreceived by the light receiving section, the running toy can accuratelyavoid collision with the obstacle.

According to a third aspect of the preferred embodiments, there isprovided a steering control device for a running toy which changes adirection of a steering wheel or a relative revolution speed of left andright driving wheels with a steering device, comprising:

light emitting sections to emit different types of infrared rays withdifferent wavelengths in left and right directions diagonally ahead ofthe running toy;

a light receiving section to receive an infrared ray reflected on anobstacle ahead of the running toy; and

a control section to control the steering device so that the running toyis steered for a predetermined amount of time by changing a direction ofthe steering wheel or the relative revolution speed of the left andright driving wheels in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacleaccording to the wavelength of the reflected infrared ray received bythe light receiving section.

According to the third aspect, since the steering control device for therunning toy includes, a light emitting section to emit different typesof infrared rays with different wavelengths in a left and rightdirection diagonally ahead of the running toy, a light receiving sectionto receive the infrared ray reflected on an obstacle ahead of therunning toy, and a control section to control the steering device sothat the running toy is steered for a predetermined amount of time in adirection to avoid collision with the obstacle according to thewavelength of the reflected light received by the light receivingsection, the steering control device can detect whether the obstacle isin the left or right area diagonally ahead and the running toy can besteered for a predetermined amount of time in the direction to avoid thecollision with the obstacle. Therefore, the running toy can autonomouslyavoid the obstacle ahead.

Preferably, in the steering control device for the running toy, thecontrol section controls the steering device of the running toy so thatthe running toy is steered for a predetermined amount of time bychanging a direction of the steering wheel or the relative revolutionspeed of the driving wheel in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the wavelength and strength of the reflectedinfrared ray received by the light receiving section.

Consequently, since the control section controls the steering device sothat the running toy is steered in the direction to avoid collision withthe obstacle according to the wavelength and the strength of thereflected light received by the light receiving section, the collisionwith the obstacle can be accurately avoided.

According to a fourth aspect of the preferred embodiments, there isprovided a steering control device for a running toy which changes adirection of a steering wheel or a relative revolution speed of left andright driving wheels with the steering device, comprising:

light emitting sections to emit an infrared ray at different timing inleft and right directions diagonally ahead of the running toy;

a light receiving section to receive the infrared ray reflected on anobstacle ahead of the running toy; and

a control section to control the steering device so that the running toyis steered for a predetermined amount of time by changing a direction ofthe steering wheel or the relative revolution speed of the driving wheelin a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle according to thetiming of the reflected infrared ray received by the light receivingsection.

According to the fourth aspect, since the steering control device forthe running toy includes a light emitting section to emit infrared raysat different timing in a left and right direction diagonally ahead ofthe running toy, a light receiving section to receive the infrared rayreflected on an obstacle ahead of the running toy, and a control sectionto control the steering device so that the running toy is steered for apredetermined amount of time in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the timing of the reflected light received by thelight receiving section, the steering control device can detect whetherthe obstacle is in the left or right direction diagonally ahead byrecognizing the timing of the received light, and the running toy can besteered for a predetermined amount of time in the direction to avoidcollision with the obstacle in order to avoid collision with theobstacle. Therefore, the running toy can autonomously avoid collisionwith the obstacle ahead.

Preferably, in the steering control device for the running toy, thecontrol section controls the steering device of the running toy so thatthe running toy is steered for a predetermined amount of time bychanging a direction of the steering wheel or the relative revolutionspeed of the driving wheel in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the timing and strength of the reflected infraredray received by the light receiving section.

Consequently, since the control section controls the steering device sothat the running toy is steered in the direction to avoid collision withthe obstacle according to the timing and the strength of the reflectedlight received by the light receiving section, the collision with theobstacle can be accurately avoided.

Preferably, in the steering control device for the running toy, thelight emitting sections are provided on left and right of a front of therunning toy and the light receiving section is provided on a center ofthe front of the running toy.

Consequently, since the light emitting sections are provided on the leftand right of the front of the running toy and the light receivingsection is provided on the center of the front of the running toy, thepath of the infrared ray from the light emitting section where the lightis emitted to the light receiving section where the light is receivedcan be made short. Therefore, attenuation of the infrared rays can bereduced to keep the sensitivity of the light receiving section high, andthe obstacle can be detected faster.

Preferably, a running toy comprises the steering control device for therunning toy.

Preferably the running toy further comprises:

a wireless controller emitting a type of infrared ray different from theinfrared ray, wherein

the control section controls speed according to the infrared ray fromthe wireless controller.

Consequently, since the running toy includes the wireless controlleremitting a type of infrared ray different from the infrared ray fordetecting the obstacle, and the control section controls speed accordingto the infrared ray from the wireless controller, the player can changethe running speed by wireless operation. Also, a control section forcontrolling speed does not need to be newly provided, therefore, therunning toy itself can be made with a compact form.

Preferably, in the running toy, the light receiving section receives theinfrared ray from the wireless controller.

Consequently, since the infrared ray from the wireless controller isreceived by the light receiving section for detecting the obstacle, anew light receiving device for receiving the infrared ray from thewireless controller does not need to be provided, therefore, the runningtoy itself can be made with a compact form.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-262550filed on Oct. 5, 2007 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-122863filed on May 9, 2008 including description, claims, drawings andabstract are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Although various exemplary embodiments have been shown and described,the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. Therefore, thescope of the invention is intended to be limited solely by the scope ofthe claims that follow.

1. A steering control device for a running toy comprising: lightemitting sections mounted on the running toy to emit different types ofinfrared rays with different wavelengths in left and right directionsdiagonally ahead of the running toy; a light receiving section mountedon the running toy to receive the infrared rays emitted from the lightemitting sections and reflected on an obstacle; and a control sectionmounted on the running toy to control a steering device of the runningtoy when the light receiving sections receive an infrared ray with awavelength matching with at least one of the wavelengths of the infraredrays emitted from the light emitting sections so that the running toy issteered in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle according tothe matching wavelength of the received infrared ray.
 2. The steeringcontrol device for the running toy according to claim 1, wherein whenthe wavelength of the infrared ray received by the light receivingsection matches with at least one of the wavelengths of the infraredrays emitted from the light emitting sections, the control sectioncontrols the steering device of the running toy so that the running toyis steered in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle accordingto the matching wavelength and strength of the received infrared ray. 3.The steering control device for the running toy according to claim 1,wherein the light emitting sections are provided on left and right of afront of the running toy and the light receiving section is provided ona center of the front of the running toy.
 4. A running toy comprisingthe steering control device for the running toy according to claim
 1. 5.A running toy according to claim 4, further comprising: a wirelesscontroller emitting a type of infrared ray different from the infraredrays, wherein the control section controls speed according to theinfrared ray from the wireless controller.
 6. A running toy according toclaim 5, wherein the light receiving section receives the infrared rayfrom the wireless controller.
 7. A steering control device for a runningtoy comprising: light emitting sections mounted on the running toy toemit an infrared ray at different timing in left and right directionsdiagonally ahead of the running toy; a light receiving section mountedon the running toy to receive the infrared ray emitted from the lightemitting sections and reflected on an obstacle; and a control sectionmounted on the running toy to control a steering device of the runningtoy so that the running toy is steered in a direction to avoid collisionwith the obstacle according to the timing the infrared ray is receivedby the light receiving section.
 8. The steering control device for therunning toy according to claim 7, wherein the control section controlsthe steering device of the running toy so that the running toy issteered in a direction to avoid collision with the obstacle according tothe timing and strength of the infrared ray received by the lightreceiving section.
 9. The steering control device for the running toyaccording to claim 7, wherein the light emitting sections are providedon left and right of a front of the running toy and the light receivingsection is provided on a center of the front of the running toy.
 10. Arunning toy comprising the steering control device for the running toyaccording to claim
 7. 11. A running toy according to claim 10, furthercomprising: a wireless controller emitting a type of infrared raydifferent from the infrared ray, wherein the control section controlsspeed according to the infrared ray from the wireless controller.
 12. Arunning toy according to claim 11, wherein the light receiving sectionreceives the infrared ray from the wireless controller.
 13. A steeringcontrol device for a running toy which changes a direction of a steeringwheel or a relative revolution speed of left and right driving wheelswith a steering device, comprising: light emitting sections to emitdifferent types of infrared rays with different wavelengths in left andright directions diagonally ahead of the running toy; a light receivingsection to receive an infrared ray reflected on an obstacle ahead of therunning toy; and a control section to control the steering device sothat the running toy is steered for a predetermined amount of time bychanging a direction of the steering wheel or the relative revolutionspeed of the left and right driving wheels in a direction to avoidcollision with the obstacle according to the wavelength of the reflectedinfrared ray received by the light receiving section.
 14. The steeringcontrol device for the running toy according to claim 13, wherein thecontrol section controls the steering device of the running toy so thatthe running toy is steered for a predetermined amount of time bychanging a direction of the steering wheel or the relative revolutionspeed of the driving wheel in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the wavelength and strength of the reflectedinfrared ray received by the light receiving section.
 15. The steeringcontrol device for the running toy according to claim 13, wherein thelight emitting sections are provided on left and right of a front of therunning toy and the light receiving section is provided on a center ofthe front of the running toy.
 16. A running toy comprising the steeringcontrol device for the running toy according to claim
 13. 17. A runningtoy according to claim 16, further comprising: a wireless controlleremitting a type of infrared ray different from the infrared rays,wherein the control section controls speed according to the infrared rayfrom the wireless controller.
 18. A running toy according to claim 17,wherein the light receiving section receives the infrared ray from thewireless controller.
 19. A steering control device for a running toywhich changes a direction of a steering wheel or a relative revolutionspeed of left and right driving wheels with the steering device,comprising: light emitting sections to emit an infrared ray at differenttiming in left and right directions diagonally ahead of the running toy;a light receiving section to receive the infrared ray reflected on anobstacle ahead of the running toy; and a control section to control thesteering device so that the running toy is steered for a predeterminedamount of time by changing a direction of the steering wheel or therelative revolution speed of the driving wheel in a direction to avoidcollision with the obstacle according to the timing of the reflectedinfrared ray received by the light receiving section.
 20. The steeringcontrol device for the running toy according to claim 19, wherein thecontrol section controls the steering device of the running toy so thatthe running toy is steered for a predetermined amount of time bychanging a direction of the steering wheel or the relative revolutionspeed of the driving wheel in a direction to avoid collision with theobstacle according to the timing and strength of the reflected infraredray received by the light receiving section.
 21. The steering controldevice for the running toy according to claim 19, wherein the lightemitting sections are provided on left and right of a front of therunning toy and the light receiving section is provided on a center ofthe front of the running toy.
 22. A running toy comprising the steeringcontrol device for the running toy according to claim
 19. 23. A runningtoy according to claim 22, further comprising: a wireless controlleremitting a type of infrared ray different from the infrared ray, whereinthe control section controls speed according to the infrared ray fromthe wireless controller.
 24. A running toy according to claim 23,wherein the light receiving section receives the infrared ray from thewireless controller.